. . . I've been told that I write novels for email messages. Perhaps this is the way to go. I'll try to make each entry, or Gemstone, a "precious" one. On mediocre days, all I might be able to produce is a "semi-precious" entry. In any case, an entry might be a "neat" Gemstone--something that is uniquely mine.

About Me

I'm originally from northern California but now live in the high desert region of the southwest in the "Land of Enchantment." I've lived here for 14 years and call this place home. There's beauty here that you would never expect! "What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well." -- Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery

Thursday, October 16, 2008

One thing I really enjoy about my job working as an instructional assistant in the 5th and 6th grades is the kids' humor. I laugh and have a good time each day because the kids are so great. Today two fun things happened.

The first was in PE. For the first part of my day (45 minutes) I get to follow two 6th grade special education kids that need a little extra help. One has Down's Syndrome and the other is Mentally Retarded. These first 45 minutes are when they go to "Specials" like Music, Computers, Art, PE, and Library. Thursday is PE day and always a lot of fun. Not only do I get to work with my special kids, but I get to watch the other members of the class be accepting, gentle, and kind to the two with special needs. Anyway, today was Physical Fitness Test day where the kids had to run between two lines back and forth to a set time that got faster and faster every set of 10 lengths. The PE teacher asked me to help our two special kids by running with them. So here I am, in between my kiddos sprinting along the lengths to each side, being silly and goofy, while laughing and hollering, "Let's go....faster!" and such as we went. I sure got my exercise with them!

Then in 6th grade Language Arts I get to wander around the whole class while keeping alert to two kids with learning disabilities who might need extra help. Today they were doing something called "Teen Biz" which is a reading comprehension program where kids go onto a website, read emails, read articles and respond to questions, and can email responses back. One other part of the website is the ability to email classmates just for fun and their teacher encourages this activity for when they're done with their article. So today the kids were emailing riddles back and forth to each other. Here are a few:

How many 3-cent stamps are in a dozen?

You throw away the outside and eat the inside, and eat the outside and throw away the inside. What is it?

What is green when you buy it, red when you eat it, and black when you throw it away?

I know the answer to the first two but still haven't gotten the third one. So let me know when you do!

Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug!

--Unknown

Name That Rock!

This is a special rock that once belonged to my Grandmother. She lived most of her adult life in Oregon and northern California but was born in Nebraska. She did do some traveling in the west and out east, so maybe got it from her travels. Somebody could have given her the rock. Nobody knows where it came from nor what the rock is actually called. And no, it is not "Steak Rock" or "Fossilized Giraffe Skin." The grains are silt- to sand-sized and in two colors. Both the lighter "matrix" color has the same size grains as the dark. Is it volcanic---perhaps a rhyolite or a welded tuff? Is it sedimentary--maybe a red sandstone or siltstone? I've had some great discussions going on at a couple of geology blogs and will update when I think I've solved the mystery! Send me a note if you've got any ideas by commenting on the blog posts linked below. (You can click the image above to get a larger view and can watch the slideshow below for more views).